It's Kyle Petty flashback time!
Mello Yello, most known in racing circles for its sponsorship of Petty in the then Winston Cup Series in the early 1990s, is returning to racing as the title sponsor of the NHRA pro series in 2013, replacing Full Throttle energy drink.
Both Mello Yello and Full Throttle are owned by Coca-Cola, and while the latter's name was particularly apt for a racing sponsorship, the decision was made to transition toe sponsorship to a different product. Coca-Cola also extended its agreement as title sponsor of the series through 2018.
"The Coca-Cola Company has been a cornerstone of the sport since 2002, and this extension ensures our partnership will continue through at least 2018," NHRA President Tom Compton said in a statement. "Over the past 11 years working with The Coca-Cola Company and the bottlers, we have developed a deep professional and personal relationship. Transitioning to a brand as powerful as Mello Yello is exciting on a number of fronts, and the vision the brand team and the bottlers have shared with us regarding their plans to leverage this sponsorship will provide an extended reach nationwide for the sport of NHRA Drag Racing."
The announcement was made in Indianapolis, site of the traditional Labor Day Weekend U.S. Nationals and included the announcement of the series' 2013 schedule.
When he took the checkered flag Saturday night at Bristol, Denny Hamlin scored the 200th win for the No. 11 car in the Sprint Cup Series, the most wins for any car number.
Say what, you say? Doesn't Richard Petty have 200 wins? And didn't he drive the No. 43 car? Yes and yes. But Petty won 192 races in the 43; with six wins coming in the No. 41 and two in the No. 42 for Petty Enterprises. The No. 43 has 198 wins, and its last win was John Andretti at Martinsville in 1999.
That meant that Hamlin's win at Kansas earlier in the season pushed the No. 11 to the top of the list. The winningest driver in the No. 11 is Cale Yarborough, who scored 55 wins with the number and Ned Jarrett is second with 49. Heck, the entire roster of winners in the 11 is practically a who's who of racing history and includes five NASCAR Hall of Famers. Check it out:
Cale Yarborough, 55 wins
Ned Jarrett, 49 wins
Darrell Waltrip, 43 wins
Denny Hamlin, 20 wins
Junior Johnson, 11 wins
Bill Elliott 6 wins
Geoff Bodine, 4 wins
Terry Labonte, 4 wins
Bobby Allison, 3 wins
Buddy Baker, 2 wins
A.J. Foyt, 1 win
Mario Andretti, 1 win
Parnelli Jones, 1 win
At one point, it wasn't unfathomable to think that the No. 43 would never have been caught as the most victorious car number. But coupled with Hamlin's 20 wins in 6+ seasons and an over 12 year winless drought for the 43, it's reasonable to think that the No. 11 could extend it's lead and stay at the top of the list for a while. (The No. 3 is a distant third place with 97 wins.) What do you think? Will Hamlin keep racking up the wins or will the No. 43 get its mojo back in the near future and reclaim the top spot?
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